THE POWER OF REINVENTION with Kathi Sharpe-Ross

Whether you’re dealing with a physical condition, a mental health issue, or a job lay-off, having the ability to develop resilience is key to overcoming whatever obstacle comes your way. In today’s episode, Sally Wolf shares her story of inspiration as she walks us through her journey of how she danced her way through cancer, her career, and her life.

As the creator of LightWorks, Sally has combined her 20 years of corporate experience with her love for mentoring and nurturing to create innovative professional development programs designed to enable people to find more meaning in both their jobs and their lives.

In addition to leading these customized workshops, Sally coaches 1:1 both within companies and in her private practice, helping clients to envision and build their best lives. Sally also offers inspirational keynotes, joins powerful panel conversations, and publishes personal reflections about a myriad of subjects aligned with being our authentic selves and bringing our full selves to everything we do.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

Transferable Skills and Transferable Resilience

One can talk oneself out of something when they feel they have a choice. But when you're dealing with something serious – whether it’s a health diagnosis, an unexpected layoff, or living through a pandemic, it can be tough. We're all living through the same pandemic in our unique ways. But we all have a lot of transferable skills and transferable resilience. For instance, your executive skills are going to come in handy and you can apply those in other ways because they’re life skills as well.

Finding Your Silver Lining of Opportunities

Sally realized that there is an opportunity that cancer gave her which she thought she missed out on earlier in life – and that's the opportunity to be human. But it was her passion for dancing that she was able to dance her way through life.

Sally danced her way through cancer and everything was aligned with that. She chose chemo on Wednesday so she could dance every Monday. She had lost her breasts and all her hair and having a safe space to reconnect with a body that had literally been reconstructed wasn’t not only a physical transformation for her but also a spiritual reinvention.

The Growth Mindset for Reinvention

Look at something as an opportunity, even when it's also an obstacle. Learn how you can practice more gratitude and how to prime ourselves for positivity when there is an innate negativity bias in all of us as humans because we are evolutionarily wired for it.

Finally, be willing to take that risk because having that head-heart alignment is what reinvention is all about. In fact, it’s not always a reinvention because it's just about coming back to true selves.

Resources Mentioned:

www.sallywolf.com

www.TheReinventionExchange.com - BOOK: RE:INVENT YOUR LIFE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

www.SharpeAlliance.com

Jody is a renaissance woman and a power player. As an entrepreneur and founder of many companies, she's a kick-ass businesswoman. Today, you'll pick up some Reinvention and life advice from someone who has a formidable passion for creativity. Her brilliant mind and sharp business acumen have enabled her to build numerous companies doing what she loves.

Jody is an artist, a designer, a director, an educator, an entrepreneur, an executive, and an investor. She's the founder and CEO of a handful of companies, all dedicated to empowering people to be as healthy and happy as possible. Jody is the global Director and CEO of Summit Series that’s committed to supporting the global maker economy. WTRMLN WTR, and LabElymental are also two incredible things she's passionate about that she built from the ground up and has taken them into some incredible places.

Jody is a partner, advisor, and investor in many category disrupting brands and companies connected to the clean living, wellness, and lifestyle space, that focus on biohacking, clean energy, personalized medicine, alternative wellness, sustainable fitness, clean food, and more.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

The Creation of WTRMLN WTR

The idea behind this brand is to up-cycle watermelons considering how food waste is a massive issue that nobody knows about. Since watermelons are low glycemic, nutritious and they can't create ethanol, this led to the idea of making a beverage out of watermelon, without preservatives, sugars, or fillers.

The by-product tells a story about making real change in sustainability and how our health and happiness is connected to what we put in our bodies.

Overcoming Your Fears By How You Define Failure

Push through things and show up with a certain type of honor and consistency. If there's something tough, go at it, talk through it, and take it all the way until it can't go anymore. If something goes sideways, and you don't try to correct it, or you don't show up and figure out which way it's meant to go, then you've failed. But ultimately, you just have to stick with the journey of it.

The Making of the Summit Series

Entrepreneurial makers and kind of holistic leaders are never taught any tools on how to manage the fear of failure, or, even worse, the fear of success.

Jody realized there are only a few resources for the makers to really succeed. And the idea of making no small plans, so you can live your biggest life has punctuated it for her to commit to building those foundational resources at all different levels of the journey. As a result, Summit supports early stage entrepreneurs and helps connect them to each other.

Resources Mentioned:

www.jodydlevy.com

Summit Series

WTRMLN WTR

LabElymental

www.SharpeAlliance.com

Www.TheReinventionExchange.com

What does your brand stand for at this moment? With so many things happening in our world right now, what makes companies steadfast is holding onto their belief system – something that our guest today is resolute about.

Ross Martin is the President of Known, the new operating system for modern marketing that uses science, strategy and creativity to help their clients achieve their goals. He is also the founder of Lunch Partners, an early stage private investment vehicle for some of the world's most powerful CMOs.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

- Empathy as a strength in leadership

Episode Highlights:

Reinventing the Culture

Known is in a war for talent. The question is how to operationalize a business and build an intentional culture when most of the company has never been in the same room with most of the company, let alone clients.

From a leadership perspective, Known strives to study their own selves, and then study the world around them. And so, they invested in the largest and most ambitious, longitudinal study of the effects of the pandemic on culture and on all of us, they call The Human Condition. The company now has over 300 people working out of their home offices. And they all have different personal home scenarios.

You can't be an empathetic leader, and you also can't be serving your clients the way we're expected to, if you don't deeply understand life's circumstances.

You also have to understand the drivers of behavior preference and recognize patterns more quickly than other people can so you can act on them for your clients or recommend.

Some existential questions you can ask yourself as you're building the culture of your company:

- What do you stand for in a moment like this?

- What are the principles upon which you founded this business?

Holding Onto Your Belief System

Those businesses that aren't pivoting right now but who have always been living their values, and have remained steadfast are the businesses and brands that are not trying to signal virtue. But they have created systems of impact that are consistent with who they are, who they want to be, and how they want to be known.

And on the other side of this, some of the greatest marketers on the planet are just frozen in fear because they wake up and they're forced to answer some very difficult existential questions for their brands that they never had to struggle with before.

If you're a CMO, who's running a company that makes soap or deodorant? Why do you need to care about something like gun safety? Well, suddenly you are being asked to care about that –not just by your consumers and investors, but by your employees.

And if you don't have a belief system behind all of your operating systems, then you're flying blind and you have nothing to hold on to.

Resources Mentioned:

https://www.rossmartin.com/

Known

Lunch Partners

www.SharpeAlliance.com

Www.TheReinventionExchange.com

Reinventing can be a lonely game especially when you have a lot of naysayers around you. Today’s guest, Kara Goldin, is a perfect example of how to become unstoppable by embracing your fears.

Kara Goldin is the founder of Hint Water, the leading unsweetened flavored water. Previously, Kara was VP of Shopping and eCommerce at America Online, where she helped lead the growth of its shopping and ecommerce business to over a billion in revenue.

Kara is the author of the book, Undaunted and she also hosts her own podcast, Unstoppable with Kara Goldin, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and disruptors across various industries.

Today, she talks about how she got started and shares some interesting Reinvention life advice and how to live our best lives – and undaunted.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

- How Kara began her entrepreneurial journey coming from the corporate world

Episode Highlights:

How to Overcome Self-doubt and Deal with Your Naysayers

Entrepreneurship is lonely and there's always that little voice in your head. Then you've also got plenty of doubters out there. The family and the friends are the worst, because they actually don't want you to take a risk.

It doesn't matter what industry you're in, or what your gender or age is, it’s the same conversation that goes on. Most great entrepreneurs didn't have it figured out. They had tons of fears. They had failures or challenges along the way. But they believed they had to try because they were driven by their passion, purpose, and mission. And it’s when you understand your “why,” that pulls you through those really tough moments.

Having a direct relationship with customers when you're going through those challenging times is also helpful. They are the ones who will pull you and give you energy to keep going.

Some Reinvention Tips

We often get into autopilot in our lives that we're doing the same thing day after day. But we have to learn to pay attention and focus on our everyday moments.

It's not just about having an idea. You have to come up with a solution to a problem and execute on it too. There are a million ideas out there and having a successful startup and a company boils down to the ability to hire people. Without the support, you can't build the company and scale the company. There are so many roles and it's a great way to try things on to try and figure out.

Startups are not one size fits all. It makes a really big difference in defining what kind of start up you want to build. Take baby steps. Maybe write a mini-business plan and start playing around with it.

The Key to Living an Undaunted Life

You’ve your journey up until this point where you can pick and choose how those things might be relevant. They set the framework for why you do certain things and those lessons and nuggets define you and help you move forward. And sometimes, in order to continue to live undaunted, you have to place fears in your life because the more fears you have, the more empowered you become.

www.karagoldin.com

Podcast: Unstoppable with Kara Goldin

Book: Undaunted

Hint Water

Moving to a different country, a new company, and a new team can be very scary and it’s so easy for the imposter syndrome to slowly creep in when you’re trying to reinvent yourself. But it’s a matter of taking that leap anyway and not being afraid of asking for help, which is exactly what our guest today has done over the course of her career.

Originally from the UK, Katie Hankinson has experience in strategy and client leadership at some of the diverse spread of global Fortune 500 clients in the B2B and B2C arenas.

Her expertise spans business and brand strategy, integrated marketing, creative and content strategy, social media and emerging tech. She’s currently part of The Sasha Group founding leadership team. Katie brings her extensive experience to support ambitious leaders of growing businesses, leading Sasha's branding practice and international efforts.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

- Katie’s career background and why she moved from the UK to the U.S.

Episode Highlights:

How to Overcome the Fear of Failure When Taking a Big Leap

Think of it from an aspect of how you can add something to the conversation. There's always so much work to be done and so many challenges ahead. And if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and be a willing partner in solving those problems and adding to the team, then you'll be welcomed in.

The challenges we really take on are those opportunities to grow and become that person. And so, it's not fair to ourselves to let that hamper us and hold us back. Therefore, take that as an opportunity to work harder, challenge yourself, and grow into that person you want to become.

Those thoughts of split second moves and decisions in reinvention are often a growth experience in and of themselves. And often, going after the things you want allows you to learn another facet of yourself which makes all the difference.

The Power of a Support Network

A support system is very important as you're making a big move in your life or reinventing yourself. Seek out people that you see as role models, or advice givers, or even sometimes a peer you can bounce ideas off.

Do not be afraid to ask for input or thoughts. Not everybody's going to agree with you. And you don't want to surround yourself with all the "yes" people either. You want people that are going to help you challenge yourself in your thinking. There are ways and means of getting to a solution and you don't always have to do it alone.

Largest most successful agency networks and independent companies in London and New York across a Reinvention Tips

If you're at a point where you want to reinvent, it becomes a forcing function to go inward and actually look at what you're made of – not just on a human level, but on the company level as well.

It's a time where authenticity matters so much to the consumer. They care that brands follow through on what their pains are at a time where reinvention isn't forced upon people. And as a result, brands have had to look inward and determine what they're actually made of and then build from there again.

Resources Mentioned:

The Sasha Group

Building While Flying Podcast

Today, people are digesting content more than they’ve ever been, and that includes podcasts. In fact, there are about one to two million podcasts out there – but many of which can’t get past seven or eight episodes. So, what is the secret to creating this unique platform so you can leverage it to grow your brand or your business?

In this episode, Josh Cary and Erik Cabral talk about entrepreneurship, podcasting, producing events, and pivoting business marketing trends. They also share how they’ve redefined success over the years and what success means to them right at this very moment.

Josh and Erik are the co-founders of PodMAX and On Air Brands, a podcast production and media company that provides training and events catered to entrepreneurs who have a meaningful message to share.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

Reinventing the PodMAX Event

PodMAX started out as a one-day event where entrepreneurs gathered at one time to interview one another on their podcasts shows and platforms.  Erik and Josh had to figure out how to fill the day so people are entertained in between recordings. And so, they got a keynote speaker and started leveraging the people they've interviewed on their podcast.

During the breaks, the pauses, presentations and keynotes, people were doing business people and building relationships.

Now, that was their beta. The real test and the true version of it is the virtual event, which gave them the opportunity to shine in front of hundreds of people.

How PodMAX is Reinventing the Podcast World

PodMAX is taking some of the greatest podcast hosts around a multitude of subjects and matching them with great guests who have incredible stories to tell. They go through the process of understanding who to connect with and how to create these incredible podcast shows for each of their hosts. They have the ability to mine the talent so people can find the perfect home for their message.

Beyond providing the platform, tools, strategies, and the confidence to share their stories, everything they do in service to the community is relationship-based. They get to know every single podcaster – their family, their passions, desires, and goals in life. They’re not just a faceless corporation.

What Does Success Mean to You?

Don’t focus on how much you’re going to make, but on what you’re going to become as a result. For both Josh and Erik, success to them means waking up happy everyday.

How to Get Started with Creating Your Own Podcast

Get your mind right. You have to do whatever it takes and it begins with this foundation of getting your mind right at any cost.

Have the right goals and go in with the right expectations. Everyone's goals are different. And everyone's expectations are different. There are about one or two million podcasts but there's a lot that can't get past seven or eight episodes.

Once you get past those hurdles, just imagine what you're going to become, the relationships you're going to build, and who you're going to meet.

Resources Mentioned:

On Air Brands

PodMAX

Get the PodMAX free course!

Change is something a lot of people are fearful of. Especially at this time of COVID, being isolated while trying to figure out how to Reinvent yourself could take a toll on your mental health. But you just have to take that leap to get to the other side – whether that’s creating your own business, or finding a new job that excites you.

Lori Sussle Bonanni is the founder of ELSSUS, LLC, a multi-disciplined communications consulting firm that builds and grows companies’ reputations thereby increasing awareness, business results, and credibility.

One of Lori's favorite quotes is "Leap, and the net will appear."  Today, she talks about some Reinvention tips and how travel prepares you for entrepreneurship. And while you’re busy looking for your next big thing, just remember that you are not your job search!

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

How Travel Prepares You for Entrepreneurship

Lori’s love of travel also prepared her more for entrepreneurship. Because when you travel, you are curious, flexible, creative, and you have an increased tolerance for uncertainty.

While change is an adventure for you, others could be fearful of it. It paralyzes people. But without risk, there is no reward. If you have a dream and it doesn't turn out exactly how you wanted it to, that is an opportunity to be creative.

You may have to make a little detour and come up with something new. You may have to recalibrate your internal GPS system so you can go a different direction. And that is part of your adventure and your journey that is something to embrace. Recognize that little baby steps will get you where you want.

The Importance of Setting Boundaries

Having boundaries is important for your mental health, especially now during COVID that we no longer have the boundaries between home and office. And it can be challenging to switch your head over from one space to another.

It's also bad enough that we always have our phones in our hands 24/7 so work is life, and life is work. Our personal life blends into business. This is actually great as long as you learn how to create boundaries and give yourself space. You need to breathe, and just learning how to do that is very important.

Reinvention Tips

Just take a step back. You are not your job search. Many of us who have been unemployed, just sit at the computer and apply and apply and apply. While you're doing that, don't just keep submitting your resume to the black hole. Figure out in the job description, who that role reports to or who HR is, or who the head of the company is, and actually craft a custom email to that person.

Finally, we've all been so isolated. And being on a "job search" isolated is probably not good for your mental health. So connect with people and nurture those relationships.

Resources Mentioned:

www.lorisusslebonanni.com

Virtual Interview Platinum

The tourism market has been one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic. How are these companies able to survive these challenging times?

In this episode, Brette Sadler talks about how she has been reinventing things and leading her team as the Global Head of Corporate Partnerships at MGM Resorts International. Her team is responsible for identifying impactful like-minded brands, and developing custom partnerships to drive revenue, overseeing implementation measurement, and overall partner management. Prior to MGM, Brette held other notable leadership roles at reputable companies such as UFC, Octagon, and  Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, particularly in the area of activation and partnerships.

Today, Brette Sadler talks about important business and some personal life changing reinventions, and the state of the industry.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

How Companies are Reinventing in the Face of the Pandemic

This pandemic has brought about a great opportunity for businesses to refocus and re-identify their goals. When you’re turning and burning in the hustle and bustle, you can get really clouded. And this pandemic has allowed companies to clear the air, so to speak, and identify the things they need to focus their time and energy on, especially when you're down a few people and you have to be very purposeful with where every moment is spent.

As a business owner or leader, it’s very important you’re able to hone in on what your end goal is – whether that’s to drive traffic, drive revenue, or seek suitable partnerships. Focus on a targeted list of priorities so if something doesn’t fit into a certain parameter, you can just put it on the back burner.

It’s also important to be able to pause and listen to what’s really important – whether on a personal level or the business aspect.

With the current situation where your team could be working remotely, this gives people more flexibility. And from a leader’s standpoint, you can get hold of your team any time you need to because people have now become more available.

Understanding Partnerships in Business

When seeking partnerships in business, think about how you can use your assets to drive your partner’s business and bottom line. That being said, the true understanding of partnerships comes from a place of authenticity.

How to Get Started With Reinventing Yourself

Get your hands dirty, and do whatever it takes to be able to do that.

If you want to get into sports, then go volunteer for a 5k run. Spend every Saturday and Sunday volunteering at some type of community activity where there's an organized run, or anything that’s going to get your hands dirty. Then you know if it’s really something you want to do. Just make those baby steps.

And if you're in a current job, take some time to do that on the weekends so that you can start to figure out if that is where you want to go, and who you're going to meet through that becomes invaluable as well.

Are you still living in a world of not enough or just enough? How do you make that shift to a world of abundance?

Today, we'll touch on business marketing trends, reinvention advice, and tips from a veteran of the business agency in the sports world. You'll be inspired by brilliant insights from a great man who's had massive successes and tremendous reinvention moments.

David Meltzer is the co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, and formerly served as the CEO of the renowned Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire.

David has been recognized by Variety magazine as the Sports Humanitarian of the Year and awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He is also the executive producer of the brand new Bloomberg and Amazon primetime television series, 2 Minute Drill.

His life mission to empower one billion people to be happy has led him on an incredible journey to provide one thing – value in all his content and communication.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

- Becoming a millionaire at 24 and a multimillionaire at 30 but still feeling empty

- How to make that reinvention shift

- Shifting from a world of not enough or just enough to more than enough

- The four values David lives by day by day to empower himself and other people

- 5 simple daily practices to empower your life and other people

- About The 2 Minute Drill

Episode Highlights:

How to Shift From a World of Not Enough or Just Enough to More Than Enough

A world of not enough or just enough is a scarce world – whether you’re on either side of the spectrum between lack and privilege. When everything has limitations, scarcity is tied to it.

When you decide not to live in a world of not enough anymore or a world of just enough, you begin to make that shift from “nothing's going to happen to you or for you” into everything's going to happen THROUGH you.

Then use pain as an indicator, not a stop sign. Use pain to indicate you have lessons to learn, to reinvent yourself, remind yourself, and recollect yourself.

The key to reinvention is to understand that things don't become apparent to you until you're 90% of the way there, because it takes 90% of the time to get to 25% of the result. Our senses are too faulty and our egos are too strong to allow ourselves to see the 90% effect of 25% of the results.

Instead of attaching your emotions to the outcome, attach them to the consistent, persistent pursuit of your potential.

5 Simple Daily Practices to Empower Your Life and Other People

A collective consciousness of a billion people that are happy will create true abundance in the world so we all can live in a world of more than enough, by utilizing these five simple daily practices to empower yourself and others:

1. Know your “what” first, not your “why”

2. Know your “who” – the fastest way to get what you want is to find someone that already has it and ask for directions.

3. Know your “how” – understand time in the pragmatic usage and productivity, accessibility, and gratitude.

4. Know your “now” – be present, prioritize things and get them done by 100% of the things you do now get done. So do things now.

5. The practice of ending “fear” – identify what you're afraid of and when you see it,  instead of resisting and fighting it, going over it, under it, through and around it, selling it, manipulating it, lying it, and cheating it – just stop and breathe. Find your higher self and come from a mindset of your tomorrow starts today.

Resources Mentioned:

Sports 1 Marketing

www.dmeltzer.com

Monique is the chair and CEO of UniWorld Group (UWG), the country's longest-standing multicultural marketing agency, serving not only the general market, but also Black, Hispanic, Asian, and LGBT communities. They focus on marketing and advertising, digital and traditional advertising, consumer insights, public relations, consumer health care, communications, DNI, and cultural fluency consulting with today's minorities becoming the new majority.

Prior to UWG, Monique was the global lead for entertainment marketing at Motorola where she worked with the entertainment and music strategies and alliances on a global level. Today, her leadership extends beyond the C-suite at UWG and contributes to many organizations and charities.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

Recognizing the Value of Imposter Syndrome

We all go through the imposter syndrome when we don't know something and there is something about “faking it ‘till you make it.” And you can’t just turn away from it just because you don’t know it. You have to aspire to know it, bring it into your life, and lean into it. It’s important you’re able to recognize the value of doing that.

And to be a true leader of an organization, you must understand the business that you're in. You must understand the numbers in front of you, and how you're going to move them accordingly. That way, you begin to see a business, not just from a very safe seat, but also from a very impactful seat. You’ve got to put everything that’s amazing in your toolbox, even if you don't always know how to use it. If you recognize the tool, that is important.

How to Take Part in the Diversity Conversations

In a pandemic, a recession, or depression, depending on where you are in the system, as well as the rise of social and racial injustice, all those things are still happening. People always have the fear to engage in an inclusive conversation or engage in an activity that's not sustainable. And it doesn't really do anything. But the good behavior also has to continue as well as the right efforts and initiatives we're seeing today. So there has to be that balancing act. You have to give everyone grace to start that conversation.

The Rise of Companies Reinventing Their Brands

If you want to thrive, you need to pivot and reinvent the brand and revisit what you stand for, your purpose, and your core mission as a brand and as a company. And it takes human beings to make those shifts. And despite all the challenges in our industry, it's a very exciting time.

Resources Mentioned:

UniWorld Group (UWG)

https://www.weallrisetogether.us/